7th Time's a Charm (The Engagement)

No, Yumi didn't reject me 6 times, she just unwittingly didn't allow me to propose 6 times.

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1. I wanted to go to Nikko, north of Tokyo in early to mid-December to propose. The reason is that when I first met Yumi in 2005, I had an itinerary which I put much effort into (a surprise to those who know me, I'm sure). The plan was a day in Tokyo, a few days in Kyoto, the conference in Hiroshima, then another couple of days in Nikko and Tokyo. But after hitting it off with Yumi, I changed the plan and stayed an extra day in Hiroshima with her and forewent Nikko. But after we decided to host the dinner party, she decided that we didn't have time to visit Nikko, too.

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2. When we went to Hiroshima to see Mariko, Hiromi, et al. on Dec. 30th, we were supposed to have time to walk around Hiroshima. I thought that it would be a good time to go back to where we met and propose. True to form, Yumi didn't get ready in time, so we had no extra time aside from seeing the people we had plans with (and were late for the first one as well).

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3. We had plans on New Year's Eve to go to Miyajima which is a very beautiful location on a significant day but it was very cold so we decided to stay in.

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4. We ended up going to Miyajima on New Year's Day but I didn't want to propose in front of 10,000 people and Yumi refused to climb to the top of the mountain with me, so it was time for plan E.

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5. We were supposed to have time after Miyajima to stop in Hiroshima on the way back to her parents' house in Kabe, but she insisted that we stop and go shopping (I am starting to visualize married life now) to get me a new jacket. She really doesn't like my current one. I finally relented and there went plan E.

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6. Finally, we were in Hiroshima together and I was literally all ready to propose and she was busy texting her friend Yuko who we were to meet in about an hour. Just then, her cell phone battery died and we spent the next half hour, going to pay phones and making phone calls to try to get Yuko the message of where and when to meet!

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7. After the business with the phone was done, I took her back to the same fountain, where I had taken a picture of her shortly after we met 2 1/2 years ago, near the actual place where we met, got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She said yes and uncharacteristically hugged and kissed me which is a no-no in public in Japan.

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I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that the ring is my Grandma Esther's ring (and actually was her mother's before her). I was very close with both my grandma and Grandpa Bud, so it's extra special that Yumi wears her ring.

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Yumi has been (mostly) patiently waiting for me to propose for some time, so she asked me several times afterwards if me proposing meant we were really going to get married.

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I have to say that Yumi is many great things including fluent in two languages. Nevertheless, she makes small mistakes from time to time that I find very endearing. One such time was when I gave her a look for some reason she told me "Don't give me a dirty face!" Another time was this morning, when I facetiously asked her if she still wanted to get married and she said, "Yes, I want to tie my knot." I wasn't sure if she was telling me she wants to get married or make sure she doesn't have kids. :-) Rest assured, she both wants to get married and have kids.

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As for the wedding, we are currently investigating an August 8, 2008 wedding in Hawaii, 8 short months away. That would be 08/08/08. We will update everyone as plans progress and probably start a second blog specifically for wedding stuff. When that happens, I'll post it here and email it out.